I had awoken with sunbeams in my eyes. I slowly rose from my bed and stretched the sleep from my body. I always feel relaxed in the morning especially after I have dreamed. After having a nice stretch, I get out of my bed and get ready to start the day. As I go to change into my day clothes, I cannot help but look at the trinkets in my room. Whenever an outsider comes through our village, I could not help but interact with them despite our doctrine say we should not.
The outsiders always had interesting tales to tell from the goings on in castle supposably north of us to tales of a war between nations whose names I cannot recall. And sometimes they would give me little odd and ends from scraps of cloth, to maps that depict strange lands including a map of our region, and sometimes even books which I would read from cover to cover.
Besides that, all I have in my room are a singular bed, a wardrobe for my clothes, a desk and chair, and a water basin for washing myself. Our doctrine states we need nothing but the basic of life. So, all my trinkets would be frowned upon if anyone were to see them. As soon as I finish getting ready, I walk out of my room.
“Dea”, I hear my mother call,” are you finally up?”
“Yes mother,” I call back as I move to go downstairs.
As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I noticed my mother sitting in the corner knitting a new blouse. My mother was wearing the same outfit as I am: a plain white blouse, a plaided skirt that goes beyond the knee, and black hard shoes.
“Ah, Dea sweety your breakfast is sitting on the table and once you’re done you need to head down to the fields”, my mother gave me a kind smile and went back to knitting.
That is right, today is my time to work the fields. I really do not like to work in fields, I would truly like to stay in my room and read my books. But everyone must work as our doctrine says. So, as I bid my mother farewell, I make my way to the fields where we grow our staple food: the tomato.
As I make my way, I see many of the other villagers going about their business. I see the women baking or cleaning fabrics and men doing construction work or walking around in leather armor to denote them as town guards. As I am about to reach the fields, I overhear two village women talking to each other.
“Did you hear the news?”
“Yes, about how Samuel has come down with the plague.”
“Indeed, the plague has been spreading a lot more lately.”
The plague: a disease that has been slowly spreading through our village for 10 years now. My father had recently passed because of it last year. Our doctor has no idea what it is or how to cure it. Many had beseeched our leader, Twain, to ask for aid from outsiders but refused stated that it goes against doctrine. That was all well and good when the disease was not as bad, but it has been getting worst every year now more than half of the populace is infected.
While this dark thought runs through my mind, I finally reach the tomato fields. Thanks to the plague there aren’t enough people working the fields as there should be. As I reach the edge a nearby town guard hands me a wicker basket.
“You are to pick tomato’s today,” the guard told me in a bored gruff voice. I grab the basket to begin my duty. As I go about picking tomatoes, I notice that many of them have worrying black spots on them. These spots started appearing on our tomato crops a decade ago and have been spreading at an alarming rate. Coincidently the plague hit our village shortly after, though Twain assures us that there is no correlation.
After a full day of picking and throwing away black spotted tomatoes, I finally started to make my trek back home to mother. As I entered the house, I saw her in the kitchen finishing up dinner. It was then that I noticed something off about her. She was paler than usual and sweating profusely.
“Mother,” I called to her with worry, “are you ok?”
“Oh Dea, of course sweety why wouldn’t I be,” my mother said with a very clear waver in her voice. She appeared to be having trouble standing on her two feet. The last time I saw something like this was when father came down with the plague. I rushed to my mother post haste.
“I believe you may need to lay down for a bit,” I told my mother grabbing her by the shoulders and leading her to her room. My mother was shaking like a leaf and her face was starting to turn green. I was worrying that she would start vomiting before we got to her room, but we arrived without incident. I laid her down on her bed and tried to make her comfortable.
“Now mother, you just rest while I go and get the doctor okay?” my mother just nodded her head and closed her eyes. After I made sure mother was resting, I made my way to find the doctor at once. It did not take me long to find him, he was eating dinner at the eatery. Once I made him aware of the situation, he followed me back to the house.
“So, doctor, what is wrong with her?” I could hear the fear in my voice as I prepared to hear the worst. I watched as the doctor left my mother’s side, walked up to me with a grim expression, and told me what I did not want to hear.
“I’m sorry to say but your mother Miss Arc has come down with the plague.” I could not believe it.
“How long?” I do not know how I was able ask that as calmly as I did.
“taking a look at her current symptoms, I would say she has about four days,” the doctor said with brisk finality. He then, with his head down, left our home. I could not believe this. My mother only had a few days left of her life. I had to watch my father die from this curse and now I had to do the same with my mother. My vision had become blurry from the tears that I shed. This plague had to be dealt with.
The next day, after checking to make sure that my mother was still resting, I made my way to the big house where our leader, Twain, resides. Twain was an older gentleman who wore the simple cotton shirt and plaid paints as all the other men, but with the added purple vest to denote him as the leader.
He had sat me down with a cup of tea. His face was very grim so I could assume that he was already aware of my mother’s condition. He probably knew what I was going to ask because many before me had tried to do the same. Twain took a sip of tea and began to speak.
“Dea,” he spoke with authority, “I know what you are going to ask and no we are not asking for assistance from outsiders.”
“With all due respect sir, I do not think that is a wise decision,” I made sure to speak with a calm and level voice. “We are currently at a point where more than half of our people are currently sick and dying and the doctor can’t make heads or tails about it.”
“Yes, many are dying, but will bringing an outsider here really help,” Twain gave a disarming smile, “Like, how do you know that the outsiders know what this plague is better than us,” and honestly I could not argue against his claim. I do not know if the outsiders could help, but it would be better than waiting for everyone to die one by one.
“I don’t, but it is better than doing nothing at all,” honestly, I knew I was fighting a losing battle way before I came to speak with Twain. But I had to try before I went ahead with my own plan.
“Dea,” Twain stood from his chair clearly intending to lead me out the door, “ I can understand how you’re feeling, your mother has fallen ill after all,” we had just reached his door, “ But, you need to have faith in our doctor to find a cure, and in the mean time take care of your sickly mother.”
As soon as I got home, I started my preparations. I did not know what I would need for my journey, so I decided to pack essentials. Bread for food, a flask of water, blanket to keep warm at night, and a compass and map I got from a traveling outsider once. I had planned to travel to the closest outsider settlement, which according to the map was right outside the forest we lived in. My hope is to find someone who could help us with the plague.
With any hope this trip should only take a day without any delays. After I checked on mother to make sure her condition has not worsened, I head out to the forest and make way to the outsider’s village as the sun starts to set. I had never walked through the forest in any decent amount. The farthest I had ever been I could believe to be the halfway point. At the time I had marked a tree with the name Arc, and that is where I hope to make camp for the night.
As I make my way through, I keep my eyes and ears open to any sound and movement because I had heard that wolves wander the forest. The forest was getting darker as the sun went further down, so I started moving faster to get to my marked tree. As I was getting to my destination, I heard a twig snap which made me halt. I searched all around me for signs of pointed ears and tails of wolves.
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I was almost there so I steeled my nerves and continued my way. The sun was dipping behind the horizon when I finally reached my tree. The name Arc still prominent, except, there appeared to be something coming out of the carving. Upon closer examination the substance had a green hue and flowing out like blood.
As I stood back pondering on the strange sight, I heard more twigs snapping behind me. I spun around expecting to see a wolf only to see a man. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a puffy white shirt, brown pants, and brown boots. In his right hand he was carrying a lantern that bathed the area in rich orange light. In his left what appeared to be a large satchel.
“Excuse me miss, didn’t mean to startle you,” the man spoke in a calm and polite manner. He stepped into the clearing with a charming smile. Out of all the outsiders that I have met, he was the most interesting.
“Who are you?” I asked as politely as I could.
“A bit rude there to ask of someone’s name without giving your own,” he said though he did not appear to be upset, “but, since you asked, I will oblige I’m Dr. Mathew Medicina.”
“Hello doctor, my name is Dea Arc,” I introduced myself and watched as Dr. Medicina came closer. After the shock of seeing him went away I worked up the nerve to ask an important question, “Why are you here doctor?”
Dr. Mathew turned his head, “Collecting medicinal herbs,” he said simply. He turned back to the tree with the green substance all over it, “Wow, that is a lot of Green Blood.”
“Green Blood?” I have never heard of that before, not from my books or from outsiders.
“Yes, this green substance coming out of the tree is what we call Green Blood,” the good doctor spoke with great exuberance clearly wanting to teach people. “It is a residue secreted from a type of fungus that grows beneath tree bark.”
I was about to ask more about it when Dr. Medicina made an about-face.
“It’s starting to become night so how about we continue this conversation back at my camp,” Dr. Medicina then offered his hand to me. Seeing how dark it was getting I graciously took his hand and he led me through the forest. We had soon reached his campsite; he had a little tent for shelter and a fire with a pot over it cooking something that smelled delicious.
As we sat down around the fire and Dr. Mathew checked his dinner, I steered the conversation, “So, you are saying about Green Blood.”
“Ah right, as I was saying, Green Blood is a residue produced from a fungus,” the doctor explained. “Green Blood is a recent discovery in the medical field, and has only shown minor medicinal effects, mostly in the stomach,” he started to stir the pot as he talked. “Specifically, it has shown great efficiency in dealing with a nasty stomach parasite.”
“Stomach parasite?”
“Yes, a nasty little bug that for some strange reason propagates in tomatoes,” as he said this, I could not keep the shock from showing on my face. “Dea, is something the matter.”
If what he said is true then he clearly knows what is plaguing our village but I would need one more piece of information to be sure, “Doctor, is one of the signs of this parasite black spots on the tomato?” I waited with bated breath for his answer.
“Indeed, that is one of the signs.”
I could not believe; our tomato crops were contaminated, and we did not realize. My mother was dying because of a simple bug. I then remembered I was with a doctor, so looked up to ask him for help when I noticed he had a serious, contemplative look to him.
“How long has your village been suffering?” Dr. Medicina had an authoritative tone that made me want to answer his questions honestly.
“10 years now.”
“Why haven’t your leaders call for aid?”
“Our leader, Twain, says it goes against our doctrine.”
Mathew takes a deep breath then picks up a bowl and ladle, filling the bowl with what appears to be stew, he hands to me. “Eat up then get some rest, tomorrow I will tell you exactly how to cure your people.”
“Why are you upset?” I could not help but wonder about his change in demeaner.
Mathew took another breath, “Because, the disease that is plaguing your home has been a known disease for the past 100 years,” hearing this threw me for a loop.
“100 years?”
“Yes,” Dr. Medicina spoke with concern, “Which is why I’m am shocked to learn you don’t know anything about it, this is common knowledge by this point.”
“Like I said, we follow the doctrine that Twain presides over, and the doctrine says no outsiders,” as I say this though, my mind started to believe that this may not have been wise.
“Well, as I said I will tell you exactly how you can get rid of the parasite and protect your crops from repeat invaders,” Mathew picked up his bowl of stew, “In the mean time eat then get some sleep.”
I still had a lot of questions, but it was getting late, so I ate my meal and prepared to sleep. As I was falling asleep my mind went back to the Green Blood and how that would be our salvation. It really made me wonder how Mathew would be able to use that to get rid of the parasite that infest our tomatoes. It really was an exciting prospect that I could not wait to see.
When I awoke the next day, it was to being alone at the campsite. Dr. Medicina was nowhere to be seen. As I got up from the ground, I heard twigs snapping, I turn to see the good doctor return with a strange metal container.
“Ah, Miss Arc it’s nice to see you up and about, I have precured the necessary Green Blood and if you could kindly lead me back to your village we can get started on that cure,” the doctor spoke with absolute confidence that filled me with hope.
After I ate a breakfast of the bread I had brought with me, I immediately started to lead Dr. Medicina to my village. As we made our way, I had decided to ask an important question that had popped into my mind, “If the parasite has been known for so long, how you stopped it from coming back?”
“Simple enough, we have to add the Green blood solution to the tainted soil and any parasites that are living in it will be killed off.”
Sounds simple enough, now all we must do is make the cure and administer it to the sick. As soon as that thought enters my head we finally arrive. Because my mother and I lived on the outskirts of town it was not difficult to sneak Mathew in.
As soon as we got into the house Mathew immediately went to the stove as he said heat would be necessary to make the medicine. So, while Dr. Medicina was doing that I went to check on the condition of my mother. As I entered her room, I immediately took notice of a horrid smell. My mother was still resting in her bed she clearly had gotten up at some point because there was now a bucket next to her bed.
Checking the contents shows what I did not want to see: vomit and blood. Luckily, it was not a lot of blood so her condition is not as bad as I thought it would be. As I was putting the bucket back, I heard my mother stirring and immediately sprang to her side.
“Dea,” my mother’s voice was low, and I had to strain to hear her, “is that you?”
“Yes mother, I’m here,” I reassured her as I softly stroked her head.
“Where did you go off too?”
“I went to find help, and I did. His name is Dr. Medicina and he’s an outsider from a nearby village. He says he can cure us of the plague, and he is currently working on it now,” after I finished explaining my mother closed her eyes with a quiet sigh.
“Are you sure that was wise?” mother’s words were tinged with worry.
“Yes, I’m sure, we needed aid or we all would have died alone and with no one the wiser,” truthfully, I could not let us suffer such a fate.
“Too right!” came an excited call.
I turned to see Mathew coming in while stirring something in a cup. When he noticed where I was looking, he took the spoon out, showing it was coated in a green solution the consistency of honey. He smiled, “The medicine is now ready.”
“Now Mrs. Arc, what I would like for you to do is try and get into a upright position if possible,” my mother looked to me and I nodded in the affirmative. So, my mother, with my help, sat right up. Dr. Medicina sat gently near my mother and held the spoon with the solution up to her mouth.
Mother still looked worried, “Are you sure this works?” Mathew merely smiled and nodded, “Trust me, this will definitely cure you.”
With a little reservation my mother took the spoon into her mouth and swallowed the medicine. She shuttered, “Bitter,” she mumbled with a sour look on her face.
“All the best medicines are,” Mathew spoke joyfully getting up from the bed.
“Now, gets some rest and I can guarantee you will be much better in the morning,” with those words Dr. Medicina left the room.
After making sure my mother was resting easy, I made my way back to Mathew in time to see him getting ready to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“Ah, I’m about to head into town to check on the other sick and administer the cure where needed.”
That’s right, now we need to cure the rest of the village, “Do you have enough medicine for everyone?”
“My dear, I have more than enough,” Dr. Medicina with the grace of a lord exited the house and walked into the town guard lead by Twain. Twain had the most scathing look I had ever seen from him.
“DEA ARC, EXPLAIN YOURSELF,” Twain’s voice rang so loud that everyone in the village definitely heard him, “WHY DID YOU BRING AN OUTSIDER INTO THE VILLAGE!”
It was clear that Twain was furious beyond belief and I was the target of his anger. However, before I could say anything Mathew spoke up first, “Well, you must be Twain, Dea mentioned you but I should asked for details, because then I would at least had known you were a loud mouth.”
I was in complete shock and so were the guards. Twain’s face had turned red, “I wasn’t talking to you outsider.”
“True, you weren’t, but I’m talking to you,” Mathew did not seem to be intimidated by the armed guards or even Twain himself.
Twain seemed about to berate Mathew, but Mathew spoke first, “Now clearly you are about to go on some tangent about how you can go on fine without the help of outsiders, but I’m going to stop you there and let you know that is false,” Mathew started to walk up to Twain, “This plague you are going through is the type of disease that you can’t weather through. In fact, you’d surely die out in the next five years if it isn’t handled now.”
Mathew by this point was now standing directly in front of Twain and was giving him such an intense stare that Twain had a hard time looking at him, “So, do you have something you want to say?” Mathew asked with a potent look of challenge.
Twain stared at Mathew for a long time before finally saying,” Do what you must then get out,” he then turned and walked away.
Mathew turned to me with a smile, “Now, shall we get started with saving your village.”
With me as his guide, I took Mathew everywhere there was sick, and he went and administered his cure. However, not everyone could be saved having been to far along for the cire to be effective. It was sad we could not save everyone, but that is the sad truth of reality.
As for saving our crops, that was a decidedly simple matter. After giving everyone their medicine, Dr. Medicina show us how to use the leftover on our crops.
“It’s a simple matter, when you go to plant new seeds for the harvest, just mix a small amount of the Green Blood into the soil, that will kill any parasites that linger.”
Dr. Mathew Medicina was truly invaluable when it came to our salvation. As soon as he was done with everything he did and as Twain asked, left the village, with the promise that if we ever needed aid again, we could come to his village.
The next day, my mother was well enough to get out of bed and eat properly. And so did everyone else that Mathew had treated. It is safe to say that we would be taking up his offer again someday soon. No matter what Twain says.